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Drug Makers Added 6% More Workers in Past Year

Download the 2010 OC DRUG MAKERS List (pdf)

Orange County’s largest drug makers, a group that’s set to see changes in the coming months, grew jobs by nearly 6% in the past year, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

The 13 drug makers on the list, which is ranked by local employment, added 247 workers to their ranks during the past 12 months for a total of 4,229 OC employees.

That reversed a 10% drop posted by the companies on last year’s list.

This year’s list was helped by a newcomer, No. 8 Abraxis BioScience Inc., which earlier this year opened a research and development operation in a Costa Mesa building that formerly housed No. 4 Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

Abraxis is estimated to have brought 100 new jobs to the list after moving work to the county from Los Angeles.

Without Abraxis in the mix, the 12 other drug makers saw a 3.7% gain to 4,129 local workers.

Abraxis is in the process of being bought for at least $2.9 billion by New Jersey’s Celgene Corp. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Another company is set to debut on the list next year. Dendreon Corp., a Seattle-based biotechnology company that developed Pro-venge, a newly approved treatment for prostate cancer, is gearing up to open a plant in Seal Beach.

Dendreon is starting local hiring with most to come in 2011. The company hasn’t said how many people it plans to hire except to say it’s “several hundred.”

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The list’s perennial No. 1, Irvine-based Allergan Inc., added the most jobs with a 9% gain, or 175 people, to 2,207 employees.

The company makes eye and skin drugs as well as medical cosmetics including Botox.

The hiring came primarily at Allergan’s clinical and research and development divisions, spokeswoman Caroline Van Hove said.

Allergan’s year so far has included awaiting a possible Food and Drug Administration decision on flagship Botox for treating chronic migraine headaches, perhaps as early as the end of October. Some analysts have said that Botox, which has annual sales of some $1.3 billion, could see up to $500 million in additional sales if it’s cleared for migraines.

Allergan has about three times more OC employees than No. 2 Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., an Israeli generic drug maker with 776 workers at an Irvine plant. Teva’s workforce was down 7% from a year earlier.

Teva recently cut 70 jobs as part of its decision earlier this year to stop making propofol, an anesthesia drug that was linked to the 2009 death of Michael Jackson.

The list has a new No. 3—Anchen Pharmaceuticals Inc., an Irvine maker of what it calls “niche generic” drugs designed to fulfill unmet medical needs.

Anchen, whose products include a generic version of antidepressant Wellbutrin XL, has an estimated 300 workers at its plant on Jeronimo Road in the Irvine Spectrum.

Anchen is followed by Valeant, which is moving its corporate headquarters from Aliso Viejo to Canada with a pending acquisition.

The Business Journal estimates that Valeant has 200 local workers.

Valeant is being bought for $3.2 billion by Biovail Corp. of the Toronto area. The new company is set to take on the Valeant name and most of its management team, including Chief Executive J. Michael Pearson, a Canada native.

Pfizer Inc., the New York maker of Viagra, Lipitor and other high-profile drugs, moved to No. 5 on the list with an estimated 150 employees at the Irvine Towers office complex near John Wayne Airport.

Two drug makers tied for No. 6 on the list.

Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. posted the largest job gain by percentage—its employment rose 21% to 137 local workers from 113.

Ista makes various eye drugs, including Bepreve, an eye drop for allergies, which was launched late last year. Chief Executive Vince Anido previously had said it expects Ista’s overall employment to go up as a result of Bepreve’s introduction.

In a statement, Ista said it added jobs in its sales force, as well as other parts of the company, including three additions to its executive team.

Tustin drug developer No. 6 Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it had 137 local workers, up 1% from a year ago. Peregrine is working on oncology drugs, including bavituximab for treating breast cancer.

Irvine-based Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc. was No. 9 on the list with 70 workers, unchanged from a year ago. Stason makes cancer and diabetes drugs and offers services, including research and development and drug production.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc., also of Irvine, fell to No. 10 on the list, with a nearly 3% drop in local workers to 69.

Spectrum sells Zevalin, which is used to treat blood cancer non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Fusilev, which is used to treat a rare form of bone cancer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the New York-based maker of Taxol for treating cancer and Pravachol for controlling cholesterol, was the list’s No. 11 entry with an estimated 50 employees in an Aliso Viejo distribution office.

The list’s No. 12 spot belongs to Aliso Viejo-based Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc., whose Zenvia drug candidate is designed to treat uncontrollable crying or laughing episodes. Avanir added one worker to bring its total to 20.

Finally, Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Irvine rounded out the list at No. 13 with an estimated 13 employees. Cortex is a maker of psychiatric and nervous system drugs that cut its workforce by 52% last year as part of a restructuring.

Download the 2010 OC DRUG MAKERS List (pdf)

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